Lottery game tickets may be frequently sold in retail establishments such as convenience stores, liquor stores, and the like. These and other establishments selling lottery tickets may be sensitive to the costs of counter space used, and labor required in the sale and redemption of lottery tickets. Some lottery customers do not want to wait for a weekly or daily drawing. These customers may purchase “instant-win” lottery tickets. Such tickets may also involve games, such as poker, battleship, bingo, symbol matching, or other games that increase customer interest and enjoyment in the purchase of such tickets. Instant-win lottery tickets are generally sold to retailers in pre-printed books or bundles. Commonly, whether an instant-win ticket is a winner is predetermined prior to the sale of the ticket. Examples of instant win tickets are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,250,685, 6,206,780, and 6,168,521.
Instant-win games differ from pooled drawing games, where a lottery ticket represents a chance in a drawing to be held at some later time for a pooled prize or prizes. Rather, in an instant-win game, whether the ticket is a winner may be pre-determined before or at the time the ticket is purchased, although whether a particular ticket is actually a winner may be concealed from the buyer and seller. Instant-win games may include “extended play” features such as games printed on the ticket, e.g., bingo or number matching. These features may increase the enjoyment and interest level of purchasers of such tickets, causing them to buy tickets in greater numbers or more frequently. These features may also include a “probability game” feature, where choices made by the player may impact whether the ticket is a winner or loser.
Often with instant-win tickets a customer may determine whether the instant-win ticket is a winning ticket based upon game play information displayed on the ticket. However, if the game play information does not result in a winning ticket then the customer may discard the ticket. Thus, once it is determined that the game play information displayed on a ticket does not result in a winning ticket that game play information is no longer of use to a customer.
Some instant-win tickets have been developed where a player may purchase additional game play information on a single ticket. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,997, to Kamille, discloses a single ticket wherein a customer may be able to purchase additional information on the ticket by scratching off a covering hiding additional information.